


Bookmarks

by dreamtowns



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Actor AU, Alternate Universe – Actors/Actresses, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Communication, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gen, Healthy Coping Mechanisms, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Angst, Non-Linear Narrative, Pining, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-05-28 08:16:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19390153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamtowns/pseuds/dreamtowns
Summary: Noctis is only half-paying attention to what Ignis is telling him, more interesting in scrolling through his contact list and pressing ‘call’ when he spots the ridiculous name for Prompto. Ignis sighs, a long-suffering tone that Noctis has grown used to hearing, and rolls his eyes. Noctis wants to snark and sayroll them any harder and your eyes’ll fall out, but Prompto answers the phone before he can.“Did you accept the role?” Noctis practically demands, and Prompto’s laughter settles deep and warm in the pit of his stomach. “Don’t choke on your spit again, please.”Prompto’s laugh cuts off with a whiny, “That wasone time, dude!”Noctis mocks him lightly, and then repeats: “Did you accept it or not?”Prompto’s quiet for a moment, to where Noctis wants to demand Ignis turn the car around, and then he makes the sound he does whenever he does a finger-gun motion, and says, “Guess we’re gonna be space pirates, buddy pal.”





	1. [ONE]

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Final Fantasy XV. All rights reserved to its developers: Square Enix. All that is mine is the plot of this story in particular and any original characters introduced. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this work. This is purely for entertainment purposes.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Title is from Bookmark by Novelette because that’s the song I listened to on repeat while writing this.

Contrary to various forums and theories online from their fans, Noctis wasn’t born with the natural ability to walk onto a set or into an audition and become the character he was supposed to be, quirks and all, with only a short, dismissive glance at the script. As far as he was aware, he didn’t have an innate acting gene; only two decades of hard work, passion, and far too many sleepless, caffeine-filled nights.

No one in his family, immediate or otherwise, were involved in the entertainment business. Lucis Caelum’s were lawyers, and doctors, and successful businessmen. Living in a town on few maps didn’t change that perspective. Half of Noctis’s life was eclipsed by lessons that groomed him to take over his father’s business before he put his foot down on the eve of his sixteenth birthday and said _no_ , that’s not what _I want._ Prompto, whose parents were both anesthesiologists, whose parents wanted him to follow in their footsteps, said the same.

Thankfully (luckily), their parents accepted their choices and eagerly helped them whenever they could. While the entertainment world was much different than what they were used to, their parents were still accustomed to a cutthroat world where money mattered. Nonetheless, once Noctis showed how serious and focused he was, he had been signed up for acting and improv classes with Prompto.

It started when he was six, really.

His class had gone to an improv skit, and some of the actors asked for volunteers. Noctis and Prompto were both chosen, and they grasped the game of improve almost intuitively. It was fun. It was the most fun Noctis had ever had in all of his six years. He’d attend skits with his mother after that, and then when his mother passed, he would drag his one of his uncles or older cousins with him.

Noctis was eight when he discovered plays. As one of his cousins liked to joke, it all went ‘downhill’ from there.

Then, on the eve of his twentieth year, Noctis found an agent willing to take a “promising newbie,” and he and Prompto moved out of their thriving little town of Cape Caem to Lestallum; the apartment was shitty, but they carved a welcoming and homey space out of it with their own grit and money. Noctis didn’t want to rely on his father’s wallet if he could help it.

At the beginning, Noctis managed to grasp small gigs—the little things, like commercials, or being an extra in such and such show or movie, if only to bolster his portfolio but also to pay bills—but then the movie offers flow in as Noctis all-but jams his foot in the door, and suddenly, before he can blink, he’s attending interviews, and award shows, and all sorts of _things_ that he once dreamed of. Suddenly, he’s not a random name during credits, but someone well-recognized and well-regarded in the field.

Prompto’s right behind him, of course, in terms of both popularity and prestige. It’s sort of a running joke, in their circle, that Noctis and Prompto are always coworkers in most, if not all, of their movies and shows. There were, of course, some films they weren’t costars on, but those were so few in number that many disregarded them. To the public, they were Noctis-and-Prompto instead of Noctis _and_ Prompto.

But Noctis wasn’t really complaining.

He had achieved his dream. He was _living_ his dream, and he had his best friend at his side. Of course, it wasn’t a smooth road (not _at all_ ), he had been involved in a couple of scandals at some point—and they weren’t really scandals in that he had cheated on a partner or were involved in some money scheme, but rather . . . it was just work-related drama; someone broke into his house once, there was a car accident here and there, a drunken twitter rants that almost made Ignis rip his hair out at some point—and there were stressful moments where he wished he’d chosen a career where he wasn’t stalked on the regular, where his privacy wasn’t almost always violated, and sometimes he wondered what his life would be like if he chose to follow the path his family members assumed he would just because he was the son of Regis Lucis Caelum, but, near the end of the day, he never regretted his decisions.

_No_ , Noctis thought as he watched Prompto run through his lines a second time that evening, Pryna and Umbra slumbering on the couch, Ignis making something that smelled absolutely divine even though he was off that day and told to relax, please, for once, _No, I don’t regret anything at all._

**.01** _“Well, at least we know the fire alarm works.”_

After being cast into a series of background roles in TV shows, commercials, and short films (and by short, Noctis means practically _nonexistent_ ), Noctis lands a somewhat important role in an indie film—meaning, he has an Actual Speaking Role that isn’t two lines. “A feels-good film about a high schooler who can see spirits,” is the brief explanation ten minutes before he’s supposed to audition. “You’re going for a supporting role, the main character’s best friend, but you’re still important to the plot.”

Noctis nods. His stomach is in knots, and he sort of wants to throw up, but he also regrets only eating a piece of toast for breakfast. Mainly because he was late. He’d stayed up all night with Prompto, helping the other run his own lines and perfect his character before he looked at the time and remembered _oh, I have a meeting with Loqi._

Well. Noctis wasn’t really expecting to have an audition dropped unceremoniously on his lap at nine in the morning, but he’s not going to complain. He is, however, gripping the script so tight in his hands that it’s crumbling.

Loqi spares him a short glance form the drivers’ seat. “Relax, kid,” he says, and somehow his nonchalant tone makes Noctis both less nervous and more anxious. He almost tells the man to pull over, _please_ , before you get digested toast all over your dashboard. “You’re gonna do _fine_.”

They reach the building—and the audition, thank the gods—in time. When Noctis walks out a good half hour later, he’s in a daze, and Loqi has a firm guiding hand on his elbow. Somehow, he managed to convince the audition crew that he was fit for the role of best friend. Somehow, he convinced them that _yes_ , he could act, and _yes_ , he could act well.

Honestly, Noctis just blanked out for the entirety of the audition. The script is still crumbled in his hands.

“Didn’t know you had it in you, kid,” says Loqi as he unlocks his car. “Honestly, I thought you might’ve vomited when you entered the room.”

Noctis makes a noise in the back of his throat. He thinks he sounds like some sort of dying whale, and Loqi snorts and pats his arm consolingly. “We’ll know if you get the role in a week or so,” he informs Noctis, ushering him inside the car. “You’ll know the second I do. Now, let’s have a celebratory brunch, yeah?”

He has brunch with Loqi. He goes back to his shitty, but welcoming apartment he shares with Prompto. He and Prompto both cry into tubs of ice cream they should’ve have bought because they both tanked their auditions, and they’re, like, _failures_. They watch stupid romcoms and reenact the funny scenes. Chocolate ice cream ends up on the couch cushions, at some point. Two days later, they both get calls from their agents.

They get the role.

Three minutes after Loqi ended their phone call, Noctis stares blankly at his phone before Prompto rounds the corner from the kitchen and all-but tackles Noctis. Thankfully, they fall onto the couch, but Noctis still groans dramatically as though he were injured devastatingly. “I’ve been hit,” he rasps out in an old, weary tone. “I’m done for, brother. Please . . . tell my dad, I . . .”

Prompto snickers and pokes him where he’s ticklish. Noctis shrieks, and Prompto cackles because he’s an _asshole_.

“Guess what, guess what,” Prompto nearly yells out in excitement. He’s buzzing in place; Noctis thinks he’s going to fly into the ceiling. “Guess who just landed their first movie role, Noct?”

_You_. Noctis smiles, his eyes crinkling, and says, “Hmm . . . I dunno. Maybe Cor?”

“No!” Prompto whacks him with one of the couch pillows, and Noctis sputters. “Me! I’m gonna be the _main character,_ Noct!”

“Shit, really?”

“Yes, really!”

After their bout of celebratory shouts and yells, Noctis, who’s practically on top of Prompto by now, asks, “Well? Can you tell me the name or is it, like, super-secret?”

Prompto snorts and wraps his arms around Noctis’s waist. Ah; it’s cuddling time. Noctis’s favorite part of the day, really. “It’s an indie film, so I dunno how super-secret it can be,” Prompto tells him, and then says the movie title.

Noctis shifts until he’s somewhat upright, palms splayed on Prompto’s chest. “Uh . . . Prom?”

“Yeah?” Prompto gives him a look. “What? Are, like, the directors horrible or something?”

“Well, I hope not,” Noctis says after a moment of thought. Gods, he’s heard horror stories about directors who sometimes wouldn’t let anyone leave the set until, like, four in the morning. “But guess who’s your coworker?”

It takes a minute for Prompto to get it, but when he does, what is possibly the brightest smile pulls at his lips. “OMG, Noct! Are you fucking with me? I swear, you better not!”

“Scouts honor,” Noctis promises, and then he’s laughing and yelling and trying his best to escape Prompto’s tickling fingers as said man says, “Bullshit! You were never a scout!”

Noctis’s father takes them out to dinner to celebrate, and Noctis pretends he isn’t getting teary-eyed when his father beams at him, eyes suspiciously wet beneath the florescent lighting of the restaurant, and says, “Noctis, I am so proud of you. Your mother would be as well; I know it.”

Noctis doesn’t cry, but it’s close. Prompto cries for him, though. He’s a good friend like that. 

Two weeks later, Loqi drops Noctis and Prompto off at the set, though with a promise that he’d return within the hour. Once they confirm who they were, they’re both whisked off into makeup and hair, and then they go to costume, and then, they’re doing some last-minute practice as they try to delicately stuff donuts into their mouths.

By the amused looks one of their coworkers is giving them—Noctis believes she’s supposed to be the class representative for the class his character is in—it isn’t working. At all.

Then, someone stumbles and dashes toward where the director is; and a sort of hush falls around them as they all watch.

“And what is the problem?” The director questions, haggard and stressed and tired.

The small young woman, an intern, probably, clutches the clipboard to her chest in abject terror before she whispers, “Sir. _Sir._ The, um—it’s on fire, sir.”

The director blinks for a moment. “. . . What?”

And then, a split second before the fire alarm starting shrieking, someone screams, “ _FIRE! THE SET IS ON FIRE!”_

_Well, fuck_ , Noctis thinks.

The alarms wail, and somehow Noctis and Prompto end up outside of the building. Somehow, they haven’t been pushed and trampled in the process of exiting the building. Somehow, the fire station made it there in record time. No one was injured or lost or burned, and the alarm cut off like someone’s choked its’ oxygen.

“Well,” Prompto croaks out once the alarm putters out, clutching Noctis like a lifeline. “At least we know the fire alarm works.”

Noctis stares at him for a moment, and Prompto stares back, surrounded by lost and disgruntled team members and a half-dressed guy in a salmon suit (Noctis . . . kind of wants to know, but also doesn’t) and then, a beat passes between them, and they spiral into uncontrollable laughter for nearly five minutes.

His first film starts off rocky, but he and Prompto persist through the various ups and downs. It’s a lighthearted film, harrowing at certain moments, and by the end of production, Noctis knows how to cry on demand—and make it look _realistic_. Loqi hands them a copy of the edited film before it’s set to go to specific theaters, and they camp in their living room with their family members—his father and Cor, and Cor’s he’s-not-my-boyfriend-boyfriend, Nyx Ulric—to watch it.

Although Cor insists otherwise, they all end up crying at some point during the film.

The movie ends up in international waters due to a rapid surge in popularity, and there are _awards_ that the film gets. Reviewers and critics call it _new age_ and _harrowingly beautiful_ and _a poetic story about the people who come and go in your life_ and suddenly Noctis gets recognized by a college student when he’s at the laundromat on Sundays, and Prompto gives his first autograph at Waffle House when they’re both hungry for hash browns at 4 AM, and Noctis discovers a small, ever-growing fanbase dedicated to him (and, to an extent, Prompto) when he impulsively makes an “official” twitter account for himself.

“It’s only gonna go up from here,” Loqi tells him at some point, through the near downpour of auditions and script readings and photoshoots and a whole lotta _things_ Noctis has to wake up early for. “If, of course, you play your cards right.”

**.02** _“Did it hurt…when you fell from heaven?”_

By pure chance alone, he and Prompto both grab a short role in some TV series—something about demons and angels having a war, and a human stumbling in the middle of it; though said human was actually the first ever offspring of a fallen angel, apparently. It wasn’t really Noctis’s cup of tea, really, because, in Prompto’s words, he was a “dork who only liked those feel-good movies that make you cry at 3 AM” and, well, he wasn’t _wrong_. It also didn’t hurt that most of Noctis’s acting career, however small and nonexistent it might be, was built around said feel-good movies.

What can he say?

He liked a good cry. 

The roles itself weren’t anything special . . . they were guest starring in a lighthearted episode before a Pivotal Plot Point, and it involved flirty and witty behavior and scenes. The director and script writers wanted to show how angels and demons interacted _outside_ of the War; if there were any hope of positive interactions, and thus Prompto and Noctis’s characters were born.

“So, basically, we’re subverting the typical visage of an angel and demon, you know?” the director is telling them as their scene comes up. “Instead of blondie over here being the angel, given his hair and eye color, he’s a typical barista, albeit a _demon_ one and _you_ ,”—here, Noctis gets pointed at with a laser-point light for some reason, but, hey, at least no one’s screeching at him for standing there and ‘doing nothing’— “are an inconspicuous angel blending in with other hapless college students. Neither of you recognize the other as, well, angel and demon, and blondie hits on you with a classic ‘falling from heaven’ pick up line, and—you get the picture.”

Once there are calls for actors and actresses to get on the set, Prompto takes his place behind the makeshift barista station. Noctis head to the “outside” of the café and patiently waits for his cue. Café music—a slightly muted, generic pop song—flicks on inside the ‘café’, and other actors and actresses come to life. They fill the air with light chatter and banter for the scene. There’s a short line in front of Prompto, and it’s like his best friend is another person.

He’s so enthralled watching Prompto act—act like he truly is a demon trying to live like a hapless human barista, with the corny humor of his character as he unsuccessfully flirts with the patrons—that he nearly misses his cue to enter the café. Once Prompto says, to a coworker, “One day, someone’s gonna get wooed by me, and you’ll all eat your words.”

The coworker snorts, and says a funny quip, and Noctis smoothly enters the café. He’s dressed in a bomber jacket, ripped jeans, and a tee. There’s a beanie snug around his ears, and fake snow lining his shoulders. He has winged eyeliner. It’s early fall, but apparently the War in the show has begun affecting the weather patterns of the town.

In character, Noctis rubs his hands and scans the chalkboard menu. His character is supposed to be quiet, and shy, but sarcastic and witty whenever comfortable; which, honestly, is basically Noctis. At this point, when Noctis chews on his bottom lip as he ‘decides’ his order, Prompto is staring at him with an interested gaze.

“He’s _pretty_ ,” Prompto fake whispers to a coworker. Noctis then locks eyes with Prompto, forces a light flush on his cheeks, and drops his gaze in a shy manner. At this point, there are two other girls in front of him. He’s the last person in line.

The coworker—her names Noelle, Noctis remembers—chuckles and swats Prompto’s upper arm. “Think he heard you, Alix.”

Noctis glances up again, locks gaze with Prompto again, and then hides a smile when Prompto winks and cheekily smiles at him. It’s kind of funny, how Noctis is in character and yet _not._ A large part of him wants to start laughing the second Prompto aims those really corny pickup lines at him, but he doesn’t want to ruin the scene. The café lighting is starting to irritate him, to be honest. They’ve gone through this scene, like, twelve times.

(more like two, really.)

When it’s Noctis’s turn to order, he steps up to the counter and gives Prompto a nervous smile.

“Welcome to the Brink,” Prompto chirps, the edges of his smile dipping into something flirtatious. Noctis really, really wants to start giggling right now. “May I offer you our special today?”

Noctis knits his brows together in faux confusion. “. . . special? What is it?”

Prompto leans in a bit. “That pretty smile of yours.”

Noelle laughs into one of the flavor pumps as she fills out an order, and Noctis sputters, cheeks ‘flushed’. “Um. Uh. I think I’ll just get, uh, coffee.”

“Alrighty!”

Noctis hands over the fake credit card and observes Prompto as he rings the purchase. Then, Prompto says, almost nonchalantly, “Did it hurt?”

Noctis blinks, and tilts his head in a manner he _knows_ is ‘devastatingly cute’, according to the small, but sometimes terrifying, fanbase of his. “What hurt?”

Noelle is snickering into her palm.

Prompto smiles warmly, his eyes shining beneath the set lights, as he hands Noctis his card back; their fingers are touching, and it’s a searing touch that nearly makes Noctis gasp aloud. But he doesn’t, if only because they’d have to do a retake, and he’d have to fend off countless questions of ‘are you okay’. “When you fell from heaven?”

Noctis flushes bright in his cheeks, and Prompto grins, victoriously, and for a moment, a heart-stopping moment, a part of Noctis thinks this is _real_ , and then the director yells out, “CUT!” for a fifteen-minute break; and that illusion is shattered.

He’s almost blindsided by how lost he feels at that knowledge.

There are other scenes with his and Prompto’s character—typical romcom-esque sort of situations where Prompto has the corny pickup jokes and Noctis flushes and stumbles. In the café scene, Prompto scribbled his ‘number’ on a receipt with another corny compliment. There’s a scene to Noctis in his apartment where he messages Prompto, and another scene where they bump into one another at the grocery. The episode ends with Prompto repeating the heaven joke after a montage of their ‘relationship’, and Noctis quirking his lips in a quiet smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek, and murmuring, “Only if you’re willing to kiss the bruises better.”

It’s a backdrop of a beautiful, if cold, night; the two of them sitting on the roof of some motel as they stargaze and talk about their problems. Prompto wraps his scarf around Noctis when he shivers; a realistic one given that the AC is on extra-extra cold for the set. They hold hands. It’s a cute and heartwarming episode; and they watch it with the rest of the cast of the show once it’s edited.

They get sent a fruit basket from the crew a few days after the episode aired. The fan base enjoyed the episode far more than anyone expected, and there’s a few heavily dropped suggestions that they would appear on a few more episodes in the future. There’s a sudden inpour of fanart and fanfiction about their characters, and Prompto, excited and almost in disbelief, sends him his favorite stories on the regular.

Noctis refuses to admit that he enjoys some of those far more than he should.

It’s nearing two years since they both landed their first movie gig together, and they’ve both amassed a pretty good amount of money between them. Their shitty but welcoming apartment in Lestallum is still a shitty apartment, and he’s getting really tired of the mice and the broken pipes. And Noctis gets an idea when he’s halfway through a script Loqi sent over. It’s about some high school; another feels-good that’s literally his niche in their world right now. Not that he’s complaining, though.

“Hey, Prom?”

Prompto’s response is muffled, given that he’s in the kitchen. “What?”

Noctis exhales, but, really, there’s nothing to be scared about. It’s _Prompto_. “Do you wanna move to Insomnia with me?”


	2. [TWO]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Final Fantasy XV. All rights reserved to its developers: Square Enix. All that is mine is the plot of this story in particular and any original characters introduced. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this work. This is purely for entertainment purposes.
> 
> Enjoy!! And thank you for your support!!

It was a quiet day when Noctis realized he was in love with Prompto.

There was nothing dramatic about his realization, unlike in the various scenes he’s acted in. There was no swell of piano and violins in the background. There was no pivotal moment, no heart-stopping kiss in the rain. Noctis had woken from his nap, relishing in the free day he had, and walked into the kitchen to see Prompto curled up on the floor with Pryna.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh,” Prompto said into Pryna’s fur. “We’re having a bonding moment.”

Noctis laughed and went about making himself a sandwich. As he assembled his own, he made another for Prompto without thought—a simple PB&J with extra Jelly because Prompto disliked the texture of too much peanut butter.

“Come on, get up,” Noctis said, nudging Prompto with his feet. “Food time.”

Prompto made grabby-hands at the plate of food. “Let’s eat on the floor.”

Noctis snorted but acquiesced. As he sat, he all-but melted against Prompto’s side; the warmth of Prompto’s body heat eating away the coldness of the tile. Noctis eagerly dug into his sandwich and idly started counting some stains on the ceiling.

“Noctis,” Prompto said, solemnly, after he swallowed his bite. “I love you.”

He might have choked, but there wasn’t anything to choke about. He only smiled, thought, _oh_ , at the warmth in his stomach, in his entire being, as he sat there on the kitchen floor, curled against Prompto’s side, Pryna chewing on her toy a few inches away, and said, “Love you too, you nerd.”

“Don’t ruin the moment!” Prompto laughed and poked a ticklish spot. Noctis hissed and swatted him. “We’re bonding.”

“Tickling is not bonding,” Noctis insisted. “It means _war.”_

A few days after his revelation, Prompto got invited to a fan event in Insomnia—something called Mega-something Con, Noctis was too busy dealing with his emotions to pay attention—with an extra ticket for a guest of his choice. Even then, as their careers started to kick-off, Prompto didn’t hide the fact that he read fanfiction, that he looked at fan analyses, that he engaged in fandom. His twitter was full of fan art and links to things that he liked and enjoyed.

Of course, he picked Noctis as his plus one, and it was a simple matter for Ignis to clear their schedule. 

Apparently, the one they were invited to was much smaller than the ones that took place later on, but there were dedicated fans from different fandoms and walks of life. Noctis had never gone to a convention before that day, but he had a great time. He got small trinkets and things, nothing too fandom-like, but, rather, things he saw that looked pretty or cool. The food was . . . well, it was food. Neither good nor bad.

They attend a panel with other actors and actresses who had small amounts of notoriety like them; some of them Noctis had worked with before—Iris Amicitia, who once guest starred with him on a spy show as a florist-slash-spy whereas he was an unsuspecting delivery guy; some guy named Dustin, and a dark-haired young woman named Gentiana Noctis vaguely remembers seeing in Luna’s apartment at some point.

It was a laidback panel, really, and there wasn’t more than twenty people in the room counting himself. Conversation was lighthearted and humorous, Prompto’s sunshine personality easily dispelling any sort of tension. Iris did as well, with her apple-cheeked smile and friendly personality. Then, a fan stood and said, “I have a, um, q-question for N-Noctis?”

Noctis smiled at her. “What’s up?”

“What’s, um . . . what’s your favorite thing in a-a partner?”

Noctis hummed in thought. What he really wanted to say was _they should be your best friend_ but, well, he wasn’t prepared for the consequences that statement would cause just yet. He kept a firm grip on himself, though, because he was, technically, being interviewed however informal said interview _was_ , and smiled at the fan.

And said, “Kindness is the best quality in a partner for me.” 

After the panel and meet & greet, they all decided to hang around the con as a group until it ended. Dustin left right after the panel, having had an audition they all wished him luck with, so it was just Noctis, Prompto, Gentiana, and Iris.

Somehow, Prompto discovered fanart of their characters—from the angel and demon show, _Over the Brink_ , they guest-starred in (and still do, at some moments)—and happily purchased a print, a fan book (that did not look PG _at all_ ), and a cute little charm. Those who manned the booth were well-aware of who they were; one of them was taking a video (which ended up going viral) as Prompto chatted with another, and perfectly captured Noctis’s long-suffering look as his best friend acted like a _nerd_.

On the drive home, Noctis found the video floating in his feed and watched it.

> _“Are you seeing this, are you seeing this, is that fucking Noctis and Prompto?”_
> 
> _“Holy shit,”_ someone else—a teen wearing the brightest green beanie Noctis has ever seen in his life—mutters under their breath, though tone undeniably high-pitched in panic. _“Holy shit.”_
> 
> Prompto’s cheerfully rifling through the rack of charms. _“Ooh, Noct, come look at this! I think this is us! OMG it’s so cute!”_
> 
> Noctis watches himself shake his head and look utterly done with what’s going on. _“It is cu—wait,_ why _are we in our underwear?”_
> 
> One of the proprietors squeaks out something in response, and Prompto chuckles, throaty and bright. _“You sweet, innocent soul. Don’t worry about it.”_
> 
> _“I’m literally going to fight you right here, right now.”_
> 
> Prompto lightly tickles Noctis’s side without looking, and Noctis sputters and lightly shrieks; dancing out of the way with a huff and a, _“Stop tickling me!”_
> 
> Prompto isn’t listening. _“Is that a fan book? Like, a comic? How much for that?”_
> 
> Noctis looks perplexed. _“You don’t like comics?”_
> 
> Prompto laser-eyed the teen in front of the lockbox. _“Did you draw these?”_
> 
> The teen nods.
> 
> _“OMG, you’re so talented! I can only draw squares.”_
> 
> Here, Noctis coughs, _“Barely,”_ and then almost doesn’t escape Prompto’s unforgiving fingers at the comment. He disappears from view briefly.
> 
> _“Uh . . .,”_ says the artist, they/them pronoun button pinned proudly on their collar. _“It’s, um . . . f-four Crowns each . . . s-sir.”_
> 
> _“Oh, please, call me Prompto! My dad is ‘sir’.”_
> 
> _“Right,”_ says the artist. The poor thing looks like they’re halfway to passing out. _“Um. Uh. Can I get autographs, too . . .?”_
> 
> _“Sure, you can—OMG, OMG, Noct, I’m getting a body pillow of you—.”_
> 
> _“If you get that pillow,”_ Noctis hisses, but his cheeks are a bright, bright red and he’s grinning and laughing, and his eyes are shining beneath the florescent lighting of the center. _“I will literally_ never _cuddle with you ever again, I swear to the_ Gods _, Prompto Argentum!”_
> 
> Prompto pouts exaggeratingly, and then playfully winks at the stall owners, mock-whispering, _“I’ll come back later, kay?”_
> 
> _“No, you won’t!”_

Noctis’s stomach grumbled. “Hey, Iggy? Can we stop at Waffle House?”

Ignis sighed loudly, and Prompto jumped in place. “Please? Can we? Please, Iggy!”

“Are you both four?” asked Ignis, pointedly, but he still flicked on his turn signal for the nearest Waffle House.

Noctis smiled. “Obviously.”

The body pillow ended up, somehow, in Noctis’s room. He would have burned it, but then Prompto would’ve bought twelve more out of vengeance, and that wasn’t a headache Noctis needed in his life. Prompto tweeted about his pillows’ ‘new home’ in which Noctis retweeted it saying “im moving out. find a new roommate”.

(His response gave rise to a lot of people saying ‘ _they were roommates’_ for some reason, and Prompto would laugh too much to be of any help. He understood within a few days, though, as someone helpfully linked to the vine for those who didn’t understand the reference.)

Nonetheless, their first convention and fan meeting was a success.

It also gave birth to a pivotal niche in their fanbases—the _Promptis_ fandom. Noctis may or may not keep tabs on them. If anyone asked, he had no idea they existed.

**.03** _“Go back to bed before you hurt yourself.”_

The next movie Noctis lands (with Prompto, of course) is a historical-period romance. They aren’t the main focus this time, but their characters are an important background couple. They own a bakery together and have firmly placed themselves in the history of the town. Their characters have been together for years, and the main character and love interest both come to them for advice and other such things.

The set takes them to the gorgeous countryside of Tenebrae. They’d have to be there for a few months for production—a full four months, Noctis isn’t sure how he’s gonna handle it—and that’s not counting some of the scenes that _don’t_ take place in Tenebrae, but, for some reason, near the Disc of Cauthess back in Duscae.

Noctis just hopes their neighbor, a kind young woman named Lunafreya, doesn’t mind watching Tiny while they’re gone. Thankfully, their bills and utilities are paid automatically. 

Three weeks after their successful move to Insomnia, Prompto found a stray dog he immediately named _Tiny_ even though she rose up to his hip at full height and brought her home. Noctis wasn’t bothered, and their complex allowed pets so long as they cleaned up after her, and, really, it made the apartment all the brighter and louder.

He finishes a scene, and the director calls for another fifteen-minute break, and Noctis wanders over to where Ignis waits with lunch. Prompto’s already there, humming contently around Ignis’s homecooked meals.

“Here you go, Noct,” Ignis says as he hands Noctis the container once he makes enthusiastic grabby hands at it. “I hope you find it to your liking.”

“I’ll always love your cooking, Iggy.”

Ignis rolls his eyes, somehow managing to look dignified and elegant, and goes back to typing on his phone. He’s probably adjusting Noctis’s schedule for tomorrow.

As they settled into the hustle and bustle that was Insomnia, Loqi had been juggling with getting Noctis gigs worth his time and money, but also handling any interview offers and things like that. Noctis knew his agent was getting overwhelmed, and hesitantly asked if a PA of sorts would work for them, even though Noctis wasn’t really sure if actors did get PA’s.

They did—could, if there was a demand. And that’s how Ignis Scientia walked into Noctis’s life. And Gods, was Ignis a blessing.

Production has a three-day break due to some electrical problems with the set, and Noctis spends those free days sightseeing with Prompto. He ends up purchasing quite a bit of souvenirs and then gets another bag for them, knowing if he didn’t then packing up at the end of filming would be a nightmare. When they get back on set, it’s one of Noctis’s and Prompto’s more romantic scenes throughout the film.

They’re discussing the problems the main couple is having, reminiscing about how their relationship progressed and grew. There’s a cheesy dancing montage where Prompto literally turns on the music, some tuba-looking device that Noctis will never know the name of and sweeps Noctis into a ballroom-esque dance in their living room.

It’s a scene filled with lighthearted giggling and soft, quiet kisses that drifts unto ‘nighttime’ where Noctis is curled up on the couch in blankets, and Prompto reads a book next to him, idly running his fingers through Noctis’s hair. Noctis closes his eyes and makes a content little sigh.

Noctis finds it a little funny that he and Prompto are almost always type-casted into roles where they are lovers, and yet.

~~Noctis is still hopelessly _single._~~

Prompto sighs, rubbing a tired hand across his face, before he leans and gently kisses Noctis’s forehead. With a quiet smile, he murmurs, “Go back to bed before you hurt yourself.”

Noctis pouts and opens his mouth to say his line, and then—he sneezes. Loudly. Sprays spit and other questionable liquids right at Prompto’s face, who shrieks and stumbles back, falling on his ass. They stare at one another, wide-eyed, and it’s honestly far too quiet on set, and Noctis feels the all-too-familiar hysterical amusement gurgling forth.

He laughs into his palm at Prompto’s dumbfounded expression, but then Prompto starts snickering, and then the two of them are cackling like they’re cartoon villains about to enact the Big Bad Plan. Noctis manages to wheeze out, “Maybe you should take your own advice, love.”

Prompto’s laugh switches to an indignant sputter, and his fingers twitch like he’s thinking about tickling Noctis, who quickly punts a couch pillow in his direction.

“That’s a _foul!”_ Prompto yells, but his tone is utterly delighted. Their banter soon dissolves into a short pillow fight filled with bright laughter and smiles. Noctis isn’t even acting at this point.

Neither of them notice that the director keeps the camera rolling. It ends up being the scene that wins them a Grammy-award.

_While We’re Awake_ , the title of the film, gets recommended for some fancy awards that Noctis pretends to understand. He and Prompto get elected for an award, too, some _Best Minor Relationship Award_ or some such nonsense, and Noctis drags Prompto out to Waffle House to celebrate even though he still doesn’t get what the hell they’ve been suggested for, but it’s fine because Prompto’s bright smile and flushed cheeks at the news is more than enough for Noctis.

It’s a good year, for the both of them.

**.04** _“Did you bring us here to die?”_

Noctis has his first career scandal halfway through his twenty-fifth year, and it isn’t even his fault. Okay, no—it kind of is. Technically. It’s not a _bad_ scandal, really, though there were some people he’d worked with that might’ve considered their career ‘completely dead’ or whatever, but one of the first things Noctis told Loqi, and Ignis, and Gladio (and Aranea and Crowe, Prompto’s agent) when they started to work with him was that he was gay, and that he absolutely refused to hide his sexuality.

And Noctis just never really hid his sexuality from the public, not on purpose, but everyone just assumed he was straight. Noctis did make it a point to donate to LGBTQ organizations and shelters, retweet helpful information and the like, but everyone just _assumed_ he was a really good ally, and Drunk Noctis was Not having it anymore.

> NOCTIS @NoctisLCaelum • 3m
> 
> hello all, i am drunk and very gay in this waffle house tonight.
> 
> 3 likes 12 Retweets
> 
> NOCTIS @NoctisLCaelum • 14m
> 
> i went outside once w a crop top, short shorts, boots and a cap. and?? y’all think im an ally?
> 
> 103 likes 124 Retweets
> 
> NOCTIS @NoctisLCaelum • 39m
> 
> prompto, during high school: ur such a disaster gay, noct, how are you alive.
> 
> me: i ask myself that question every day
> 
> 35 likes 268 Retweets

The rest of his tweets spirals into a rant about the industry, and homoerotic subtext, and stereotypes and stigma, and having to typecast as a gay character even though people would constantly tell him that if he was, then he should stay quiet about it if he wanted to advance his career. _Fuck that noise,_ his tweet reads. Prompto, equally drunk, joins in the rant, mostly agreeing and adding in his own experiences in the industry.

Honestly, Noctis isn’t even sure how they ended up at Waffle House. He doesn’t even know why they’re drunk, but Waffle House staff were nice and welcoming to their drunken selves, and they didn’t mind that Noctis and Prompto were stationed in a corner booth as they kept quiet and ordered food. Noctis orders a fuckton of hash browns.

They get home safely, and Noctis wakes to the smell of Ignis’ pancakes. When he stumbles into the kitchen half-blind, practically everyone is there—Loqi, and Aranea, and Gladio, and Crowe, and Monica, Prompto’s PA. He croaks out some sort of greeting, and then eagerly drowns himself in the mug of coffee Gladio presses into his hands.

“Where’s Prompto?” Ignis questions softly, knowing of the shitty hangover Noctis’ nurses.

Prompto is currently a dismayed lump on Noctis’ bed. “My room,” Noctis manages to say once his headache recedes. “Ugh. What happened?”

“You and Blondie had a party,” Gladio snorts.

Noctis squints.

And then it comes back to Noctis, and he rests his head against the table. “Please tell me I didn’t, like, come out on twitter,” he asks the others.

“You did,” they chorus.

Noctis snickers, and then winces. Ignis slides both a plate of pancakes in his direction and painkillers. “Iggy, marry me,” Noctis says once he swallows the painkillers and takes a bite out of the fluffy, syrupy food of the gods.

“Who’re you marrying?” Prompto says as he walks into the kitchen, just as exhausted and disgruntled as Noctis had. “ _Ugh._ My _head_. Noct, why’d you give me that tequila.”

Noctis’ reply is muffled around the pancakes. “We had tequila?”

They have to do damage control, of course, but it isn’t as chaotic as Noctis initially assumed it would’ve been. Apparently, Ignis and Monica both knew this would happen at some point and created various contingency plans. Noctis thinks he’d be dead if it weren’t for Ignis, honestly.

There are interviews and talk shows and guest appearances that Noctis suddenly has to go on, and he’s always asked about his experience with his sexuality, and coming out, and Noctis doesn’t mind the questions. In fact, he’s excited for them because finally, he gets to discuss topics and things he’s actually, you know, invested in.

And then Loqi drops a movie saga in his lap. Unfortunately, Prompto isn’t in this one—he’s doing some TV show out in Altissia. Noctis has shown up in a few episodes (as Prompto’s quiet and soft boyfriend who’s ‘always in the library’), but he isn’t a major character like Prompto is. And thus, Loqi thinks a movie franchise is a perfect opportunity for him.

“What’s it about?”

“A trilogy, at the moment,” Loqi explains. “Though there are talks of a fourth—it’s high fantasy, filled with magic and sleeping gods and the like.”

Noctis’ character is a Prophet of one of the Gods. He’s an elegant and graceful mage, quiet and choosing his words carefully. Iris and Gentiana are both his coworkers, which is exciting and awesome; Iris plays the fifteen-year-old Queen of one of the countries, and Gentiana is a spy with her own agenda. It’s a dark story, one that tells of both tragedy and hope. 

Also, Noctis gets to make people cry again. Which, a plus.

“So, what then?” Noctis says in the ‘rain’, gasping and heartbroken and ‘beautifully devastated’ as his director liked to say. “Did you bring us here to die?”

Gentiana stares at him, tight-lipped and regretful. “I’m sorry . . . I’m so sorry.”

“And CUT!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are these movies/shows based off my own original WIPs? Yes, yes they sure are. Titles and all.


	3. [THREE]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Final Fantasy XV. All rights reserved to its developers: Square Enix. All that is mine is the plot of this story in particular and any original characters introduced. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this work. This is purely for entertainment purposes.

At some point in his career, around his twenty-fifth birthday, around the time that their apartment was broken into while he showered, his father nearly forced him to get a bodyguard. Cor just about did the same for Prompto. Ignis handed him a portfolio of possible candidates for both him and Prompto, along with their price ranges and what he could reasonably afford. Of course, his then paycheck wasn’t anything to snooze at, but Noctis didn’t want to hire someone just because they were expensive.

He wanted to connect with whomever his bodyguard was, wanted to get to know them and their personality that didn’t revolve around ‘protect Noctis from danger’. They also had to get along with Prompto, with Tiny (whom Noctis would call _Pryna_ because Prompto’s expressions were the highlight of his day), and Ignis. And Loqi, if only so that Noctis wouldn’t have to hear his manager mutter and whine.

After he and Prompto went through various interviews with the candidates, asked them questions, and was asked questions by them, and after countless discussion and debates about the pros and cons of certain prospects, they settled on the bodyguard duo Gladiolus Amicitia and Aranea Highwind. They were both in their late twenties, around Ignis’s age, but age didn’t really matter to Noctis so long as they all got along.

And they did. 

It took a while longer for Aranea to let down some of her walls, but Prompto was nothing if not persistent sunshine. Aranea ended up being a sort of older sister to them all, though she and Monica had some sort of background romance going on that they were both tight-lipped about, much to Prompto’s dismay.

“You know what we should do?” Prompto asked one evening. They were alone in their apartment; the rest of their crew having left for their own homes. It was Noctis’ favorite time of the day: cuddling time. “Wait, did you fall asleep?”

“’M awake,” Noctis said against Prompto’s collarbone. “What is it?”

Prompto fell silent for a long pause; one long enough that made Noctis think he forgot what he was going to say. He drifted into a quiet sleep, lulled by Prompto’s breaths and heartbeat until Prompto entwined their fingers, exhaled deeply, and said, “I want to wake up to you every morning, you know.”

Noctis’ heart stuttered in his chest. He leaned back and stared into Prompto’s gaze, whose expression was serious, and soft, and there was so much love in his eyes that Noctis almost looked away. Almost. “I’m . . .,” Noctis started, but then swallowed around a dry tongue. “Are you proposing to me?”

Prompto shrugged slowly, a slightly chastised smile on his face. “I might be.”

“You _nerd_.”

Prompto sputtered. “Hey—I’m pouring my heart out to you and . . . and this is how I’m being treated? In my own _h_ —.”

Noctis swallowed Prompto’s words with a searing kiss. He shifted after a few moments, adjusting where he was until he was nearly straddling Prompto rather than lazily lying atop him. The kiss broke when Umbra and Pryna started barking at a random noise outside, and Noctis pressed his forehead against Prompto’s.

“Like I’d ever say no,” Noctis murmured. The admission made Prompto giggle like a nervous schoolboy. “I never once doubted, you know, that I would marry you.”

“Stop,” Prompto said in a whiney tone. “You’re gonna make me _cry.”_

“You’re the one who wanted to propose all casually,” Noctis responded in a matter-of-fact tone and then tensed when Prompto touched his sides in a mock-threatening way. He glared down at his boyfriend— _fiancé_ , and boy was he gonna scream about that later—and said, “If you tickle me, we’re not getting married anymore.”

“Damn, guess my winter wedding plans are out the window,” Prompto said.

Laughter rang in the air, and Noctis rolled his eyes. The season didn’t matter to Noctis—he’d get married to Prompto tomorrow, if that’s what he wanted. Then, a passing thought drifted through his mind, and he hummed. “We have to tell our dads,” he reminded Prompto.

Prompto’s laughter stopped. “Fuck.”

It was Noctis’ turn to laugh, then, if only at Prompto’s expression.

**.05** _“Vampires have missionaries?”_

At some point, Noctis ends up in a fantasy movie. It’s a romance, based on a young adult novella, and it still has that feels-good that he’s best known for, because _of course_ it is, and Prompto’s both a major character and the love interest to Noctis’s character. When the casting list becomes public knowledge a few months into production, the rise of _Noctis-and-Prompto_ jokes are basically daily memes. One of the hairdressers even joked about them always being costars a few days ago.

The director calls the movie a “soft urban fantasy” with fluid worldbuilding. Noctis plays the standard human protagonist, but he isn’t enthralled by the hidden world—in fact, Noctis plays a teen boy who doesn’t care about that the supernatural, and only wants to bring his decathlon team to nationals. His favorite line insofar is, “I don’t have time for some vampire rebellion, we have nationals _tomorrow_.”

They’re redoing one of the first scenes where Prompto and Noctis meet. During editing, the director wanted to do a retake because “it was missing something,” and honestly, as long as Noctis was getting paid and wasn’t being overworked to death, he really didn’t care how long it took to get the scene right. Seeing Prompto dressed in skater-punk clothing was a plus, though, so, really, just who was the winner here?

Anyway.

Noctis blinks in the doorway, an incredulous expression as he stares at Prompto. Noctis wears a duck-pattered bathrobe and fuzzy socks. There are exhausted ‘bags’ under his eyes. “I’m sorry,” Noctis says after the appropriate pause stops. “But . . . vampires have missionaries?”

“Oh, absolutely,” says Prompto, grinning widely. The fake fangs in his mouth are so cute, Noctis doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore. “As I was saying, though, may I come in?”

Noctis sighs and opens the door. “I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?”

Prompto’s grin turns mischievous. “Oh, don’t worry, baby, you won’t.”

The director calls for an end for both the scene and the working day. Prompto wastes little time in taking the fake fangs out of his mouth and grimacing. “Ugh,” he mutters as they walk toward the dressing rooms to change back into their regular clothes. “ _UGH._ Those things annoy me so much.”

Noctis snickers. “You poor, poor thing.”

“I _will_ tickle you,” Prompto warns.

Noctis, not taking risks, edges out of reach, and Prompto laughs. They get dressed quickly and leave the set to find Ignis and Crowe waiting on them by the car. “I’m hungry,” says Noctis as he climbs into the car. “Wanna go to Waffle House?”

“You have to _ask?”_ Prompto sputters.

“What’s with you two and Waffle House?” Crowe questions, amused; Ignis just looks like he’s trying not to murder them with his coffee.

“It’s, like, tradition,” says Noctis with a light shrug. “We can’t just . . . not go to Waffle House.”

“It’d be sacrilegious,” Prompto adds.

Noctis quirks his lips in a teasing smile. “Ooh, that was a big word, Prompto—.”

He’s interrupted by his own burst of laughter as Prompto begins a merciless round of tickling. Noctis really, really hates how ticklish his sides are, and he hates how easily Prompto can reduce him to a stuttering, giggling mess by two flicks of his fingers.

“Okay, okay,” he gasps out, smooshing his hand against Prompto’s cheek. His sides and lungs burn, but it isn’t an uncomfortable warmth just yet. Mostly, his mind focuses on the heat of Prompto’s hands against his side. “I’m _sorry.”_

Prompto retracts his hands with a pleased hum, but neither of them moves away from the others’ side. “I’m glad you see things my way,” he says with a wink.

Noctis rolls his eyes. He then catches Crowe and Ignis share a look in the rearview mirror but says nothing about it. He’s well-aware of what those amused, knowing looks mean. Three minutes brings them into Waffle House’s parking lot, and Noctis and Prompto take their leave from the car.

“Come pick us up in, like, an hour and a half,” says Noctis.

Ignis sighs. “Very well, Noct.”

“Don’t have too much fun,” Crowe tells him.

Prompto gives a two-fingered salute, and then loops his arm around Noctis’ own. “We’ll do our best,” he tells Crowe before he starts pulling Noctis toward the direction. “Come on, I want pancakes.”

“You’re so impatient,” Noctis replies, but also quickens his pace because he wants hash browns and he wants them _now_.

Dinner is a cheerful, boisterous affair. No one bothers them for an autograph or anything of the sort, as a lot of Waffle House’s clientele are, well, drunk at this hour or they don’t care about the two giggling young adults in the corner booth. If there’s one thing Noctis loves more than Waffle House’s hash browns, it’s the anonymity of their restaurant. 

As the waiter sweeps by to collect the check, he smiles warmly at them and says, “You two are such a cute couple. Have a great day!” 

Noctis is so blindsided of the casual statement that words have swallowed his tongue. Prompto’s equally as stupefied as he, and they’re both quiet and introspective on the way back home. Ignis knows that something’s wrong, given by the constant glances he gives them, but he drops them back at their apartment with little questions.

Prompto lathers Tiny in attention once they enter their apartment, and Noctis goes to put their leftovers in the fridge. His fingers are shaking.

“So . . .,” Noctis starts. He doesn’t know why he’s talking. “I guess . . . to some people, we _do_ look like a couple, huh?”

“Guess so,” Prompto shrugs.

Noctis eyes him. His heart stammers an odd beat in his chest. “Are you . . . bothered by that?”

“I mean, not really?” Prompto says, rising to his feet. He laughs, nervous, and rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, I think I’d be too difficult to love, you know?” he does a finger-gun motion. “Like, I dunno, I don’t think—.”

“It has never been difficult for me to love you,” slips out of his mouth before he can sensor his words, but he doesn’t regret what he says. The silence is jarring; swallowed up abruptly, like a vacuum. Part of Noctis wants to shrivel and hide, but another part faces Prompto head-on.

“Noct,” Prompto croaks out, vulnerable and quiet and on the edge of tears. He steps closer to Noctis, a hand reaching out. Noctis doesn’t move. “Noct, what’d you say?”

_Well,_ Noctis thinks to himself, _might as well go all out_.

“I love you,” Noctis admits quietly; it scatters around them, in their apartment they both own. He locks gazes with Prompto, stares into his purple-blue irises, drinking in the way he looks beneath the hallway light, and repeats, much quieter, “I love you, Prompto—and it . . . _you_. . . have never been difficult to love.”

“. . . oh,” says Prompto. It sounds like a breath.

“Yeah.” Noctis pinches the bridge of his nose, gaze dropping to his feet. “Look, Prom, if . . . if I made you uncomfortable, I—.”

“You know, I kept convincing myself that . . . that my feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated,” Prompto interrupts softly, and Noctis jerks back to stare at Prompto. He’s smiling, bright and soft, and his eyes are suspiciously wet. “I thought . . . I knew that you loved me, but only as a friend, so I just thought . . ..”

“Well, you know what they say.” Boldened, Noctis walks up to Prompto and wraps his arms around Prompto’s neck. Their noses bump, and Prompto giggles. “You assume . . . you make an ass out of me and you.”

Prompto snorts, but he’s still smiling. “So, I’m an ass now, huh? Thought I was the love of your life.”

“You can be both,” says Noctis.

They’re both laughing then, raucously, and Tiny’s barking at their heels.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss me?” Prompto whispers against his lips. “I think I deserve it.”

Noctis tilts his head in thought and hums. “Only if you burn that body pillow.”

“Done.”

Noctis’ laughter is swallowed, then, by Prompto’s lips, but, really, he isn’t complaining.

> QUICKSILVER @PromptoA • 17m  
>  it’s the end of an era.  
>  [ _Attached Image_ : A still of the infamous body pillow being burned.]  
>  1.2k likes 2.6k Retweets  
>  _Click to see all 589 Replies._

**.06** _“I have a solution—fire.”_

Sometime after the _Court of Demise_ saga, but before he turns twenty-seven, there’s a space drama. It’s a series both he and Prompto have read during their college years, and Noctis nearly screamed the apartment down when he saw the news that a movie was in the works. It’s about a ragtag crew of misfits who foil a kidnapping, accidentally saving the crown princesses life and then traveling the universe to help her regain her throne; dismantling a corrupt empire in the process.

Also . . . galactic mermaids are a thing, and Noctis is _here_ for it.

Noctis is only half-paying attention to what Ignis is telling him, more interesting in scrolling through his contact list and pressing ‘call’ when he spots the ridiculous name for Prompto. Ignis sighs, a long-suffering tone that Noctis has grown used to hearing, and rolls his eyes. Noctis wants to snark and say _roll them any harder and your eyes’ll fall out_ , but Prompto answers the phone before he can.

“Did you accept the role?” Noctis practically demands, and Prompto’s laughter settles deep and warm in the pit of his stomach. “Don’t choke on your spit again, please.”

Prompto’s laugh cuts off with a, “That was _one time, dude!”_

Noctis mocks him lightly, and then repeats: “Did you accept it or not?”

Prompto’s quiet for a moment, to where Noctis wants to demand Ignis turn the car around, and then he makes the sound he does whenever he does a finger-gun motion, and says, “Guess we’re gonna be space pirates, buddy pal.”

“ _Gay_ space pirates,” Noctis corrects, but he doesn’t bother hiding his fond and excited smile. “Don’t forget the gay.”

Prompto snorts. “I could _never_!”

They chat for a few more minutes as Ignis drives him to some photoshoot. As they reach the building, Noctis says, “Hmm . . . gotta go, Prom.”

“Have fun modeling,” Prompto chirps; in the distance, Tiny barks and there’s another dog chiming in. Noctis raises an eyebrow.

“Prom . . . did you _get another dog?”_

“Look at the time, I gotta go!” Prompto rushes out amidst Noctis’s sputtering. “Love you, baby!”

Noctis rubs the side of his face, but he’s laughing. Ignis pulls into the parking spot with a bemused air. “I take it you’ve another family member, then?”

“Apparently,” says Noctis.

They name their new dog Umbra. Prompto bombards him with pictures of the husky mix after he takes him to the vet near their complex. Noctis falls in love when he’s switching clothes for the shoot, and texts back, _you’re going to make me leave the photoshoot rn prom._

Prompto just sends back another selfie with Umbra. Noctis may or may not have started crying because of the cuteness.

Later that night, they both devour the script. _The Stars Will Shine_ script left some things out, which was expected as they had to fit an entire novels’ worth of information into an hour and thirty minutes, but the most imperative bits and scenes from the novel was there, so Noctis wasn’t too irritated. They kept the lighthearted and humorous tone of the characters, though with the appropriate level of angst here and there as there was a lot at stake.

It’s with eagerness that he and Prompto step onto the set for the first day of filming. Iris plays the crown princess, and Gentiana is the captain of the pirate ship. He and Prompto are imperative characters of the crew; the only ‘canon’ couple so far. Prompto plays the mechanic, and Noctis is the healer who enjoys setting things on fire far too much.

Noctis still finds it amusing as hell that he and Prompto play as lovers, and yet no one’s really realized that they _are_ in a relationship. Majority of their fans and coworkers just assume they’re pining after one another. They solved that problem back in their kitchen, when they worked on _Like Honey_ between their twenty-third and twenty-fourth years.

And it’s not like they’re keeping it a secret for a reason . . . no one asks, so they never have a chance to talk about it. But, also, they are both private about their romantic lives. People liked to obsess and pry about them to a disturbing degree, and Noctis wanted to savor his relationship with Prompto without having it be a public affair.

Anyway, they’re doing the scene where they rescue the crown princess—though, really, rescue is a loose term. She gets herself out of the predicament, they just cause chaos along the way. There’s been a short argument amongst the crew as the best way to stop the kidnappers from following them; Iris is leaning against some pole thing, her clothes ripped and dirtied. ‘Blood’ is splattered on her face and neckline.

“Well.” Prompto puts his hands on his hips as he faces everyone. “What’re we gonna do? Because we’re running out of time bickering like this.”

Noctis grins, in that wild and dangerous way he perfected during _Court of Demise_ , in the way that a lot of fans have created fanfiction and art out of the look because he looked ‘perfectly villainous’, and says, “I have a solution— _fire_.”

Gentiana presses her hand to her forehead and says, “Might as well.”

“Wonderful . . . let me grab my med kit, and we’ll be good to go.”

“What do you mean _‘let me grab my med kit’,”_ one of their crew members squawks.

Noctis arches an eyebrow and tuts, “I said what I said.”

The director calls for a break, and the next thing Noctis knows, he and Prompto are sneaking off of set as if they were giggling high schoolers skipping class (which they never did— _much_ ). They make their way to Waffle House for lunch, even if the break is supposed to be for thirty minutes, and share a plate of pancakes and loaded hash browns between them.

His phone then buzzes with an influx of notifs from twitter.

> iris the daemon slayer @IrisAmicitia • 1m  
> noct + prom r losers who abandon u on set for waffle house  
> 35 Likes 15 Retweets 
> 
> _Click to see all 49 Replies_

Noctis snickers and then tweets a picture of their plate, Prompto giving a sunny smile and a peace sign, with the caption _u wish u were this cool @irisamicitia_ , which of course spurs on a mock argument between the two of them about the validity of their favorite fast food chains. At one point, Noctis tweets _people who like crow’s nest don’t interact w me_ in which Iris retweets with a _u once ate hash browns on sourdough toast so u have no opinions_.

In spite, Noctis takes a picture of some hash browns on his toast and captions it with _ur just jealous i have class_.

Prompto watches the chaos with a fond, amused expression.

Ignis and Gladio track them down at some point and drag them back to the set. Noctis orders a lot of pancakes for takeout to bring to the set as an apology. Prompto gets everyone coffee. They finish the opening scenes with a couple of retakes, and before Noctis knows it, he’s entering his apartment with the others.

“I’ll be back tomorrow with some new offers for a photoshoot,” Loqi informs Noctis. “I believe some makeup company wants you for a commercial.”

“Sounds good,” Noctis says, and then shrugs off his jacket. Prompto sputters when Noctis nails him in the face with it.

“Don’t take your clothes off!” he yelps around the fabric, even though they’re literally in their apartment. “We have _company.”_

Gladio snorts. “S’nothing we haven’t seen before. You’re both scrawny.”

Prompto makes a strangled, offended noise. “Hey!”

“Aww,” says Noctis before his pout pulls back into a devilishly innocent smile. The one that made a lot of fans go absolutely wild when he had done his first movie, the one that practically catapulted him into where he was now, _The Ghosts We Leave_. “I thought you liked it when I took my clothes off.”

Ignis does the most epic spit take in the history of spit takes, and Iris, somehow, gets it all on video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a really fluffy project as I’m knee-deep in two WIPs that . . . are Angst-y lol. Tbh this is just to remind myself that, hey, everything will be okay. Anyway, hope you enjoy! And thank you for your support!


	4. [FOUR]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Final Fantasy XV. All rights reserved to its developers: Square Enix. All that is mine is the plot of this story in particular and any original characters introduced. No copyright infringement intended. No money is being made from this work. This is purely for entertainment purposes.
> 
> thank you for following me on this journey!! I appreciate all your support and kind words!!! Here’s the last chapter and I hope you all enjoy it! 
> 
> It’s a lil short compared to the others, but that’s because summer classes have drowned me in work this week.

“I want to take a break.”

The admittance made Loqi pause. Ignis looked unsurprised, though he still raised an eyebrow. Noctis’ twenty-ninth birthday had passed a few weeks ago, and while he had never grown tired or regretful of his career choices, he did want a break. He wanted to spend time with his father and family and go back to being Just Noctis instead of _The_ Noctis, if only for a little while. 

(And . . . you know . . . have his wedding in peace).

Loqi hummed over the printed itinerary. “Well,” he said after a moment of thought, “I can’t say you don’t deserve it. How long?”

Noctis leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers against the cherry oak table. “Dunno . . . what d’you recommend?”

“Given your extensive career so far,” Loqi replied, almost idly, “I’d say you deserve, at the very minimum, a month free of responsibilities.”

“I agree with Loqi,” said Ignis. “You—and Prompto, as well—have worked almost nonstop since your early twenties. I’d rather you take a vacation every once in a while, instead of burning out.”

“Well . . .,” Noctis said as he pulled out his phone; it was a simple matter of texting Prompto. “I can’t argue with that logic.”

When Noctis returned to his apartment, he found Prompto sifting through various travel magazines and brochures with a bright green highlighter. Pryna napped on the armchair, looking as snug as any slumbering dog could, and Umbra gnawed on one of his softer toys by Prompto’s feet.

“Welcome back,” Prompto greeted. There was a smudge of blue highlighter on his chin, and a surge of warm affection coursed through Noctis’s veins as he walked into the living room.

Noctis smiled and pecked Prompto’s cheek. “Anything look good so far?”

“Altissia seems like the place to go this year,” Prompto said, and then shrugged. “To be honest, we’ve traveled nearly everywhere in Eos. Dunno if it’s much of a vacation if all I’ll be reminded of is work.”

Noctis snorted quietly. Prompto wasn’t wrong. “Well, I have an idea,” he said as he settled against Prompto’s side. Almost immediately, Prompto hooked an arm around Noctis’ waist and tucked him closer. He leaned his head against Noctis’ shoulder and hummed in response. “How about we go back home? Like—our hometown.”

Prompto slowly closed the brochure on his lap, and blinked. “Well . . . I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s been a while since I annoyed my cousins.”

Noctis laughed. “It’s been a while since they annoyed you.”

Prompto snickered, and then said, brightening, “We can finally get Cor to admit he and Nyx are a thing!”

“We’d have a better chance excavating the Disc of Cauthess, baby,” said Noctis, and then made a noise, strangled and high-pitched, as Prompto’s fingers lightly skimmed his side. “I hate it when you do that—who are you, some sadist?”

“Yes,” said Prompto.

“I’m breaking up with you,” Noctis deadpanned. “I can’t believe you’ve done this to me.”

Prompto’s cackle woke Pryna, and she barked at them in annoyance. Noctis shook his head. “Scolded by a dog,” he said. “Well, I’ve experienced everything.”

“Be quiet, you’re, like, twelve.”

Noctis scoffed. “Twelve and a _half_ , bitch, get your facts straight.”

“Baby, there’s nothing straight about me.”

They fell silent for a moment before burst into laughter. Pryna gave them the canine-equivalent of a death glower before she hopped off the armchair and padded toward the bedrooms. Noctis felt the need to apologize to her. 

**.07** _“Page? We’re not even in the same library!”_

An in-between period of his twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years, Noctis and Prompto are asked to play a minor couple in a romcom TV show on some streaming platform. Called _Sweet Like Her Soul_ , it focused on the blooming romance between the main character and her love interest, a girl named Grace, while also dealing with the regular high school drama of a small town. It was cute. It was feels-good fluff. It was right up Noctis’ alley.

Iris is their co-star again, but she played the bookstore owner who acted as a mother-figure to majority of the ‘teen’ cast—which was hilarious, because Iris was younger than most of the ‘teen’ cast and yet acted as the adult.

While they don’t show up in all episodes (there were only twenty, in total, not counting the episode full of bloopers) as they were seniors compared to the main cast, who were sophomores, they were still an integral part of the storyline. Noctis played the student body vice president, but despite the serious air that title assumes, he’s quite the chaotic teen.

Prompto’s the captain of the basketball team, and ‘reins in’ Noctis when he gets too wild. A classic jock-nerd duo that subverts all stereotypes associated with said duo. It’s possibly the most fun Noctis has ever had playing a character, and he hasn’t had to set anything on fire yet.

They’re working on the fourth episode now, and they’re inside a local café for the scene. It’s a chic place, modern yet vintage. It has that feeling of ‘a lot of hipsters would dine here’ sort of vibe, but with a less pretentious atmosphere.

At least, that’s what the set crew was hoping for.

He and Prompto are supposed to be brainstorming ideas on how to help the main couple get together—it’s a classic case of pining between two characters; mutually requited feelings though both parties are utterly oblivious.

Noctis noisily slurps his drink, and then says, “Just making sure we’re on the same page.”

“Page?” Prompto throws his hands in the air. “We’re not even in the same library!”

Noctis knits his eyebrows together in confusion. “This isn’t the library, babe,” he says slowly, though it’s clear he’s amused. “We’re in a café.”

Prompto drops his pen on the table and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why am I dating you again?”

Noctis smiles cheekily. “You love me.”

Prompto huffs and presses his cheek against his enclosed palm. There’s no mistaking the affection in his voice nor expression when he says, unscripted, “I’ll always love you, baby.”

Noctis, despite being in a relationship for almost a decade, still turns red at the admittance.

**.08** _“I have been in love with you my entire life.”_

Getting tired of high fantasy, Noctis ignores two script auditions and goes straight for what he knows will be a tearjerker. He’s twenty-eight, now, and he just wants to be the emotional gay that he knows he is. Granted, most of the fantasy films and shows he acted in had their heartbreaking moments, but they just didn’t have the same vibe as his feels-good films. _The Truth of Goodbye_ is an original film, not based on any sort of novel, and is focused on an unrequited love between the main character and the main characters’ ex-best friend. It’s an unhealthy balance; manipulative and dark. The movie does end on a hopeful note, though; the main character moving into his college dorm and bumping into a ‘cute, fellow freshman’ during move in.

Noctis is _in love_.

If he doesn’t get the role, he’s going to drown himself in mashed potatoes.

He gets the role and, to celebrate, drowns himself in mashed potatoes. Ignis throws him disgruntled looks for almost two weeks.

The set is in the backyard of Duscae; a small little town on few peoples’ maps. The thunderstorms and lush wildlife of the region makes it a striking and symbolic playground for the film. Noctis already knows the reviewers and critics are going to go absolutely wild about it, and that’s not even touching his fanbase.

Production takes nearly a year, because the director and scriptwriter want it to be perfect, and Noctis doesn’t mind because, hey, he’s getting paid. What’s different, though, is that Prompto plays as the ‘not-really’ love-interest. It’s . . . different than their normal roles and dynamics. Noctis is absolutely thrilled.

It’s nearing the end of the film; the dramatic conclusion of the failed love story. Noctis has been in the rain for almost five hours now.

Ugh.

The things he does for this career.

“I—I love you, okay?” Noctis gasps out, digging his knees into the ‘dirt’ he’s kneeling on. The rain is cold, so he’s freezing. They’re somewhere in Duscae, probably near the Alstor Slough. “Doesn’t that . . . doesn’t that _mean_ anything to you?”

Prompto cradles Noctis’ face with his hand (his dominant one, because apparently that’s an important distinction for this scene), and smiles sadly. There’s dirt smudged on his face, but he doesn’t say the line in the script. He doesn’t say, _“I told you not to fall in love with me.”_ Those words remain on the printed booklet left on their chairs, but they do not fall off Prompto’s tongue.

What he says—what he murmurs, so soft and loving, and _warm_ , is, “I have been in love with you my entire life.”

Noctis starts crying, on cue, on demand like he’s supposed to for this scene because this is the Heartbreaking Moment, the Tragedy of His Life. The boy he loves doesn’t love him, isn’t supposed to love him back, and yet . . . _and yet._ “You dork,” he breathes out, tears dripping down his face in a manner that he knows isn’t fake. “You absolute—oh my god, you _nerd!”_

“Should I feel insulted?” Prompto asks, but his tone is teasing; still soft and loving. “I mean, I just poured my heart out, and you’re insulting me here.”

Noctis throws his head back with a bright laugh. He’s still crying, still gasping with his breaths, and at this point he literally isn’t even acting. The rain hasn’t stopped. The director hasn’t called for an end to the scene, and thus Noctis presses his forehead against Prompto’s, and his breath shows in the air, and he whispers, “Idiot—I’ve never stopped loving you.”

The kiss is heart-melting. It’s supposed to be a shattered kiss, a scene of manipulation and crushed moments. They’ve turned what was supposed to be a tragic film into a love story. A part of him hopes they won’t be fired for that, but he finds that he doesn’t really care.

He breaks the kiss before it deepens, because they’re still in public, _gods,_ their coworkers are literally watching them _make out on set,_ and hears the director hiss, “cut the camera! Cut the camera!” over the downpour in the set.

Prompto snickers. “We’re never gonna live this down, huh?”

“Hmm . . . no, I don’t think we are.”

* * *

After a solid month of virtual silence from their social media accounts and PR team, Noctis posted three photos on Instagram that made the site, and various other social media platforms, crash. He only laughed at the chaos he caused—Ignis was most likely going to kill him, honeymoon or no—and turned his attention back to his fishing. Near the docks, Prompto made appreciative noises as he dipped his toes into the sea. 

“Causing chaos, Noct?” came Prompto’s dry tone of amusement. The screen of his phone flashed with various notifications.

Noctis snickered and recast his line. “Maybe.”

> [image: the picture is a clear photo of Noctis and Prompto holding hands with a focal emphasis on the rings on their fingers. The next photo is of Prompto, mid-laugh, the sun a bright halo around him; it looks like they’re on a beach. The last photo is of them both, in the outfits they wore to their wedding, and they’re beaming, bright and wide and loving, at one another; they stand beneath a decorative floral arch.]
> 
> **noctis**   
> 7, 206, 589 likes  
> 
> 
> i get to wake up to you every day now . . .
> 
> View all 58, 978 comments.
> 
> **catfishsupreme:** u mean to tell me they got married + told no one until now
> 
> **teaaa:** icons only,,,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave comments i am a glutton for validation

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a comment/kudos below and let me know your thoughts! my tumblr is @dreamvevo! also, y’all idk about movie/film awards, acting, etc lol


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